12 Days of Mormor
by CriminalConsultant
Summary: A set of 12 holiday themed Mormor fics leading up to Christmas. co-written with Veronica997
1. Chapter 1

Snow, however bothersome it may be, was not a reasonable excuse to miss a job. Nothing short of a blizzard stopped assassinations, postponed kidnapping, or delayed serial killers. It wasn't even snowing that heavily, Jim wasn't going to allow Sebastian to skip out because it was a little cold outside. He donned his jacket and followed Seb out into the streets below.

It was no more than a ten minute walk to their destination. The sun had set hours ago; the bright street lamps illuminated the falling snow in the darkness. Specks of white stood out on Jim's black hair and Sebastian playfully brushed them off. By the time they reached the building, most of the lights in the windows were out. Every few stories the glow from a television or a forgotten lamp could be seen, other than that there was just more darkness. Around to the back, the two ascended up the fire escape, Seb's climbing only slightly impaired by the large duffel bag slung across his back.

Once perched on the roof, Sebastian wasted no time setting up his gun to face the opposite building. Jim eyed him as Seb made idle conversation over his shoulder. It was quiet as they both watched the snow fall, Jim leaning over the edge of the building, Sebastian looking through his scope. soon enough the snow began to fall faster and thicker, covering the roof with white. Jim was up and walking around again, he could feel the air grow colder as he pulled his jacket tighter against himself.

/ooo/ooo/ooo/

"Why are we even here Jim? I can hardly see anything anymore." Seb asked as he repositioned himself, pulling the rifle closer.

Jim ignored him as he paced around in the accumulating snow in an attempt to get warmer. The hour they had already spent up here was slowly wearing at them. Neither came greatly prepared to lay about in the snow. Granted, it had been cold when they left, but all this snow was a new pain. His footsteps left distinct prints in the white snow; he trampled over them again and again.

Jim watched Sebastian hunched over the gun, his jacket was tight over his broad shoulders and if he was at the very least trying to keep from shivering he certainly didn't show it. Jim sat down in the snow beside him, expensive suit soaking through just as quickly as he realised that sitting was a terrible idea. They were across from a small hotel, rifle pointed at one of the big bay windows on the 17th floor. Thus far the target had evaded the window entirely. They had only caught a few glances of the man as he walked out of the shot.

"You shouldn't sit in the snow." Sebastian remarked

"It's a bit too late for that." Jim replied bitterly, eyeing his sopping trousers. "Hell of a night to be up here."

"That's winter for you, I wasn't the one who refused to dismiss the job."

They drifted off into silence once more, Sebastian staring at the window and Jim staring at the sniper. After another half hour the cold was beginning to take its toll. Sebastian's hands had gone numb and he tried to warm them up in his pockets while still keeping position. Jim was pacing again, pant legs nearly frozen stiff. The snow was steadily piling up on Sebastian from his lack of movement, Jim advanced to brush it off. He shook the remaining snow off his hands and jammed them in his pockets before resuming his pacing.

"Dammit Jim, you're making me nervous. Just find somewhere and stay still."

He tried to clear enough snow off to make a spot where he could actually sit, but the snow was just falling too fast and any clear spot would just be filled in seconds anyway. With a sigh he sat down cross-legged against his better judgement. Usually hits were amusing; he would come up here with Sebastian, blast a guy's brains out and still have time for dinner and a good fuck afterwards. It was funny how losing all feeling in your extremities could kill the mood. Jim was notoriously bad at handling cold temperatures. Growing up he counted six different cases of hypothermia, two of those times requiring hospitalisation. It was really all very pathetic and he despised his track record.

/ooo/ooo/ooo/

Jim had his arms hugged tight across his chest, preserving what heat was there. He marveled at Sebastian's ability to suppress any signs that he was cold. In the time they were up there Jim hadn't even seen a shiver. Whereas Jim was curled up, teeth chattering, half-heartedly trying to keep the snow from piling up on his lap. After a while he had completely zoned out, just staring at the falling snow silhouetted in the dark sky. Sebastian attempted to talk to him but to no avail. No response could be coaxed out and he gave up.

Two hours on the roof and Jim was in a right state and it was beginning to worry Seb. Graciously his target offered up a small opportunity at a shot which Sebastian leapt at, wasting no time jumping up to check on Jim just as soon as his finger left the trigger.

"hello, 'Bastian." Jim looked around, slightly confused as the sniper knelt down in front of him, "we done here?"

"Yeah, Jim, come on."

In a moment he had Jim on his feet once again.

"Geez, Jim, you're cold." Sebastian muttered as he slid his own coat off and wrapped it around Jim.

"That's winter for you."

Jim utterly resented the look of blatant concern in Seb's eyes. They never left Jim as he climbed down each ladder of the fire escape as if Sebastian half expected him to just fall off. Jim felt he had definitely earned more confidence than that. As Sebastian hailed a cab, Jim tried to tell him that he was fine and could walk but the words just wouldn't come and he submitted to the quiet cab ride back home.

Off balanced, he stumbled up the stairs to their flat, Sebastian close in tow. He stalked off to his bedroom, furious at his susceptibility to this cold. Seb let him be for a moment, but instinct made him stick his head in.

Jim was angrily trying to button up a new shirt, frozen fingers refusing to comply. Silently Sebastian came in and helped him button it before moving away to pick up the old, wet clothes discarded on the floor.

"Are you cold?" He asked lamely.

"No, It's a fucking sauna out there. I'm all too aware of my body temperature, thank you."Jim bit back.

Seb left the room only to reappear a moment later with a large blanket from the linen cabinet in the hallway and sat down on the bed.

"come here, don't argue."

Wordlessly Jim scooted close enough to slip under the blanket with Sebastian. He felt Seb's arms wrap around him, tugging him closer. He didn't resist. Sebastian's body heat turned out to be a welcome luxury; Jim found himself easing into the sniper more and more. At some point, he realised that Sebastian had begun speaking softly to him. He nestled his head into Seb's neck, listening to him tell his rare stories from the military. Sebastian never talked much about his army days or his past in general. It wasn't like Jim couldn't find these things out on his own, for some reason he never tried, he enjoyed Seb telling him about it too much to risk spoiling the story. There was something strange about this moment that Jim couldn't quite place. He ought to be mortified, cuddling with Sebastian on the verge of hypothermia. The pending embarrassment seemed to be worth it, he almost hated how the man could do that to him.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Sebastian was awoken by a hard slap in the face. He leapt from the couch and landed in a defensive stance, only to see Jim leaning on the arm of the couch smirking. "Take a shower, we're going back to the mall."

Sebastian did as he was told, put on fresh clothes now that he was allowed into his bedroom, and got into the car with Jim an hour later. Jim filled the car with his talk of gifts and silly holiday traditions of some of his clients. Before Seb knew it, they were at the mall.

Again, Jim went from store to store buying things. Sebastian didn't even know how he managed to find something new after the third day of shopping. After half an hour of shopping, something became disturbingly obvious: the radio was on, but it was not playing Christmas music. Instead, the normal pop music was playing over the speakers.

After another hour of wandering the mall, Sebastian asked Jim about it. All he received was a smirk and a response of, "Don't be thick, tiger." But Sebastian saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. He began to wonder if someone had been killed.

When they got home, Sebastian put the bags in their room and came back out to Jim. He looked him in the eyes and asked again about the radio.

"You really think I had something to do with that? Sebby, I don't even notice the stuff." Sebastian grabbed Jim's wrists.

"I know you had something to do with this, boss. Now just tell me what you did and how you knew!" Jim started laughing.

"You really thought telling Irene was a good bet? Oh, she's scared to death of me. Telling her was a guarantee I'd find out about your little pet peeve." Sebastian sat down on the couch in a huff. Jim sat down right next to him, making sure their legs touched. He even started touching Sebastian's knee, working up and up in little teasing circles. "I didn't like to see you so annoyed, tiger. A few phone calls and a little bit of muscle was all it took to ensure that we had a beautiful holiday. Would you rather I have done nothing?"

"No," Sebastian said gruffly. Jim still hasn't stopped with his hand on his leg. It was reaching his upper thigh and erring closer and closer to its mark.

"And aren't you going to thank me?" Jim whispered in his ear.

Sebastian swallowed. "Thank you very much, bo-" his breath hitched before he could finish saying "boss". Jim had gotten his hand where he wanted it.

"Not what I meant by 'thank me'. Now please do it right, tiger." And with that Jim pulled him down for a passionate kiss. Sebastian felt electrified. His hands were everywhere on Jim and he knew damn well Jim's were all over him. Clothes came off quickly. It became rough and hot.

They didn't even make it off the couch. Sebastian had his head in Jim's lap. He looked up and saw a smirk. "What?"

Jim's face grew mischievous. He looked in Sebastian dead in the eye, put hisJim and Sebastian were at the mall. Again. Sebastian didn't even know what had triggered Jim's sudden interest in shopping. For a criminal mastermind, he was becoming obsessed with the holidays.

They had been at the shopping center for almost three hours and Jim had managed to buy enough stuff to overload Sebastian's arms with shopping bags. He insisted on going into every store, trying on clothes or picking up things to look at, and always bought something. Always. Sebastian wouldn't have had a problem with this- in fact, it was a rather welcome rest from hunting Sherlock Holmes all the time- but every store was playing Christmas music.

Sebastian was keeping a running tally: this year's holiday favorites seemed to be "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (5 times), "Winter Wonderland" (4 times), and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (twice). The songs were wearing at his patience, something even the toughest enemy had never been able to do. He was becoming irritable and he knew that if something didn't change he was going to snap at someone.

And of course it did happen. They were in a clothing shop and Jim decided to balance a hat with a tiger on it on Sebastian's head.

"A tiger for my tiger," he said. Alone, this would have been fine, albeit frustrating. But then he raised his phone to take a picture.

Sebastian knocked the phone out of his hand and pinned his arm behind his back. "Do not take my picture," he growled in his ear. Then he let him go and ripped the hat off his head, throwing it in the direction he thought it had come from. He looked over at Jim, who was giving him a death glare. "What?" He mussed his hair up with his fingers, even though it was only a couple inches long.

"You did just attack me. I was simply trying to enjoy the holiday. An apology would be appreciated." Jim picked his phone up off the ground. "You're lucky this isn't broken. I hate switching over my number."

Sebastian sighed. "Can I just tell you when the car gets here and we're gone?" He scooped the bags that had been filling his arms up off the ground. "I'm sorry, okay?!" He shouted at Jim's pout.

"Oh, get over yourself, Sebby. I'm not upset that you ruthlessly launched yourself at me. I'm annoyed I didn't get the picture." Sebastian bought the hat for Jim. Sometimes, he hated that he was such a pushover for the man. At least, he did most of the time. There were times when doing what Jim wanted were very enjoyable.

The car got there less than ten minutes later. The driver had put up the partition, so Jim and Sebastian were left alone to talk. After a few minutes of silence (which Sebastian appreciated) Jim looked him dead in the eye. Now, to someone who didn't know the man, it would have meant nothing. But Seb knew Jim better than anyone. And he knew that look. That was the "tell me what I want to hear or I will lock you in a minuscule closet covered in simple syrup with a swarm of agitated honeybees" look.

"It was you, Jim." Sebastian jumped straight to the point. "It was something else entirely."

"And what would that be, tiger?" Jim tilted his head to the side. "Is there something I should know about?" Sebastian shook his head. Jim's gaze did not relinquish. "Don't lie to me, Seb. It's unbecoming to look stupid. All I want to know- all i'm asking- is that you tell me what it is that wore your patience so thin."

"Jim, I really don't want to talk about it." Sebastian sank a bit into his chair. He _was_ being stupid and he knew it. If he just told the man holiday music drove him bonkers, that would be the end of it. It would never come up in conversation again. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. "It's not important, anyways. Honest."

Jim clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything for the rest of the drive home.

_**TWELVE DAYS OF MORMOR**_

Sebastian felt like shit. Jim had not said a word to him since they had been in the car together. He'd locked himself in their bedroom and wouldn't even let Seb in. Which was why he was the one in the living room when someone rang their bell.

"Who is it?" He yelled towards the door, turning down the volume on the television.

"Honestly, darling? You know." He mumbled something under his breath along the lines of "of all nights… leave me alone… not in the mood" before letting Irene Adler into the flat. While she was taking off her London-proof winter coat, she looked around the room, obviously trying to locate Jim. "And where is our consulting criminal gotten off to?"

"Locked himself in the bedroom. Won't let me in and he won't come out." Sebastian sat back on the couch. Irene had been here enough that she knew she could sit where she pleased and eat or drink as much as she wanted. Sebastian was unsure of the relationship she and Jim had entertained prior to theirs, but she was very familiar with the layout of the flat.

"And why would he do that?" Irene sat in the armchair next to the couch. Except Irene didn't _sit_, she posed.

"I got a bit angry at the mall. Caused a small scene. He wanted to know what made me upset, but it's stupid so I didn't tell him." Sebastian had been turning his pack of cigarettes in his hands while talking. Jim hated when he smoked in the flat, but it was becoming unavoidable.

"Why were you mad, darling?" Irene smiled at him, but Sebastian knew she was being sarcastic. Sadly, the thing about Irene was that she could make you want to trust her. And someone should know what happened. So Sebastian told her.

_**TWELVE DAYS OF MORMOR**_

hand back where the whole thing had gotten started, and purred into his ear, "Santa baby,…" Seb gulped. It was going to be a long holiday season. But he might start to enjoy this music yet.

_**The End**_


	3. Chapter 3

Jim watched, bemused, as Sebastian angrily wheeled the little suitcase over to where he was standing.

"You took a while at security, darling, is everything alright?"

"You know damn well. I certainly know I wasn't the one who decided my pocket knife needed to be in my carry on and the security guards didn't particularly want to listen when I told them my boyfriend was a psychotic bastard."

Jim feigned innocence and looked up at Seb with a hurt expression. It didn't last long as Sebastian stared him down and Jim broke out into a wide grin. He spun on his feet, grabbing his own small suitcase and walked to an empty cluster of chairs, Sebastian close in tow. Once they sat, Seb began to warm up to Jim again considerably, though still a bit miffed that he had just had one of his favourite knives confiscated.

"I'm actually shocked they let you go so quickly."

"Me too," Seb admitted, "This one guy wouldn't stop watching me even after they released me, thought for sure he was going to stalk me on the plane or something."

"Do you have to remind them of their inferiority, colonel?"

"Hell of a lot of good that would do. I haven't introduced myself by my military ranking in years, plus you wouldn't even let me fly by my real name."

Jim tutted quietly as he reclined in the stiff airport chairs. Glancing out the window it seemed the snowy weather that had plagued them in London followed them on the job. The night sky streaked with the heavy flurries of the ongoing blizzard outside. Some meters away he could see a small boy pressed up against the glass, yelling enthusiastically back to the parents. He felt a nudge from Sebastian who gestured to a Starbucks stand across the way.

"Coffee?"

He nodded and Seb strolled over to the shop, only to reappear a moment later with two cups. Passing a cup to Jim, he settled back down beside him.

"I hope this snow doesn't delay our flight," Sebastian said between sips, "I don't want to spend any more time in Russia than I have to."

"Funny, I would've thought you'd like it here."

"I came here hunting right after I was discharged; me and a couple of mates who were stationed in Moscow at the time. We spent two months staring at nothing but trees and snow. After that I was really missing the city, you know?"

"That's kind of dull, Sebastian."

Sebastian shrugged and downed a good portion of the coffee. He watched the little screen above him, waiting till he saw the bright green words "ON TIME" flash up next to their flight to relax. Jim felt Seb's arm snake around his waist as they settled in.

Jim found himself contentedly watching the steady snowfall. It was late and he wanted nothing more than to be back in London, not that he'd ever admit it. Planes flew in and out almost as steady as the snow fell. Each time one took off down the runway another took its place mere minutes later. Neither talked much while they waited for their flight, Jim was always a silent traveler and Sebastian had taken out his laptop from his bag.

Jim watched quietly over his shoulder as Sebastian scrolled down the screen. First he had checked his email, logging onto his gmail to find a handful of useless messages which were promptly deleted without being opened. Once finished there he checked the news for London. It was regretfully quiet in their absence. With that done he regressed to his overindulged website addiction - Reddit. Jim almost laughed at his struggle to find new, blue links to click. He was still leaning over Sebastian when he noticed big red letters popping up on the flight schedules. "DELAYED, DELAYED, DELAYED." all the way down the list. One by one each each changed, leaving not a single on time flight left. Jim glanced over to the large windows, a number of children were now clustered against them. The snow fell thick and fast, what little glimpses of airplanes he could see beyond that didn't seem to be moving.

He sighed and leaned back further in his chair, vaguely noticing Sebastian quickly pull up the weather report and groan. within minutes a mob appeared at the ticketing desk, everyone wanting to know how long it was delayed or if it would be canceled. The worn out employees offered little more than hazy replies that they would be boarding as soon as it stopped snowing. After they were all sure that was all they were getting from them, the people took their seats again; all tapping their feet impatiently or fretting over the excited children.

"I'm going for a walk" He told Sebastian, pointing indistinctly down the hall.

"Want me to come with you?"

Jim shook his head, leaving his bags at his seat to begin walking aimlessly. It wasn't a huge airport, nor was it particularly small. It had the appropriate number of brightly lit stores and kiosks to try and lure in tourists to buy a few more tchotchkes before they returned home. There were _plenty _of places to eat. It seemed you could make it past two stores without stumbling upon another restaurant. Personally, Jim couldn't see why anyone would want to spend enough time in an airport to sit down and eat. He ended up in one of the gift shops full of postcards, stuffed animals, and cheap jewellry. The cashier eyed him suspiciously as he idly picked up a little snow globe. Replacing it he left the store and went to stand in front of the flight delays board instead.

Just as they had all rapidly changed to delayed, every single one was now quickly becoming cancelled. no sooner than he had located his own cancelled flight did his mobile buzz in his pocket.

**Flight's cancelled, where are you? -SM**

Jim returned to their chairs, Sebastian still right where he left him.

"Did they say when the next flight to London was?" Jim asked

"Didn't quite have the chance to ask, it seems a lot of people want to know." He gestured over to the employees, swamped anew with the same mob of people begging for information.

"Hotel for the night?"

"Sounds good to me."

Sebastian passed Jim his luggage before slipping his hand into Jim's. Fortunately it seemed that every single traveler was too busy arguing times with attendants rather than securing the limited airport hotel rooms. Jim snickered to himself thinking of all the idiots that would be sleeping on the hard chairs tonight as Sebastian paid for their room.


	4. Chapter 4

Sebastian had decided to surprise his boss. That was the only reason he had spent almost the entire day in the car. Jim wasn't in town, so he had taken the opportunity to make the holiday special.

He had woken up early- about six in the morning- gotten in the car, and driven for hours to a cute little tree farm. He had hunted around the farm until he had found a tree that seemed small enough to fit in their flat, but was still impressive. Then he had driven to the nearest shopping mall. He bought lights, tinsel, ornaments, and then a problem arose. The tree-topper. It had to be _perfect_.

It took awhile, but he finally found it. A shining star. It must have had about a hundred lights on the thing. He bought it immediately. It would be the brightest thing on the tree. He paid, got back in the car, and drove to the flat.

It was only noon, so Seb had about eight hours to decorate as much as he could. He got to work immediately. The tree went up. The lights went on. He hung tinsel on every branch. Next, the ornaments went on- bulbs that would glint with a blood red hue when the light hit them. The tinsel was gold, nicely complimenting the red ornaments. The lights were a soft white, almost yellow in color. The final thing to go up was the tree-topper. This had white lights, which made it stand out among the rest of the tree.

It was eighteen-hundred hours when Sebastian finished. He sat on the couch and looked at the tree. He had yet to plug it in, but he had to take a break. He was tired from decorating all day- something he was definitely not used to and would never do for anyone except Jim.

He got up to test the lights on the tree, when the door handle turned. It was only eighteen-hundred fifteen hours- Jim was home fifteen minutes early. Sebastian plugged in the tree when Jim opened the door.

It was perfect. Exactly what he had wanted it to look like. The lights threw a soft glow that shined off the gold of the tinsel and glinted off of the dark red of the ornaments. And on the very top of the tree shone a white star. "Sebastian, when did this happen?" Jim stared at the tree in awe.

And then all the power in the flat went out.

_**Twelve Days of MorMor**_

"What were you thinking?!" Jim shouted angrily at Sebastian. "You can't put that many lights on one tree! The power company isn't going to be able to turn our power back on until tomorrow! And it's all your fault!"

Sebastian didn't say anything. He felt his own anger brewing. If he allowed himself to talk, the night would end with Jim and him on opposite ends of the flat, stewing all night. So, even though he wanted to shout at him, Sebastian restrained himself.

"What are we going to eat?" Jim had found a torch in a closet and had it shining straight in Sebastian's eyes. "Bet you didn't even think of that in your brilliant scheme."

Sebastian was still silent.

"If you don't talk to me, I'm going to have to hurt you. So, tell me, tiger: why did you do this?"

"I just wanted to surprise you," Seb said. "You were talking about never having had a real Christmas tree growing up and I wanted to give you one."

Jim lowered the torch. "Oh, Sebby. Thank you." He raised the light back to his eyes. "But that still doesn't change that we have nothing to eat. I expect you to go get us food and be back in an hour."

"Fine." Sebastian got his coat and scarf and left the flat.

_**Twelve Days of MorMor**_

Sebastian wandered to the organic-foody take-out place near their flat. Jim had mentioned wanting to try their food before. Even from the outside, the place looked like an organic explosion: the door was painted a lime green and a sign proclaimed the specials, the names of which were too exotic for Seb to read.

Sebastian went in. He was hit with smells. Spicy, sweet, chicken, cookies. He decided Jim had good taste in take-out.

He ordered two specials (something with lamb and sauce and rice) and two quarts of soup (one butternut and another chicken noodle) from the hippy behind the counter. That wasn't being mean. The man had a braided beard and dreadlocks in addition to looking completely stoned.

The food was ready in about half an hour. That meant he still had fifteen minutes before Jim had told him to come back. Seb knew better than to come back early.

He decided to walk once around the block and then come back to the flat. It was barren. After all, it was the holidays. Most people had somewhere to be or were at least pretending they did. Sebastian envied them. He and Jim had a good thing- they fought a lot , but overall they were happy together. But they didn't do couple things.

Most couples went out to dinner or to movies for a date. Jim and Sebastian went on hits. Most couples met each others' families. Sebastian hadn't talked to his since he had been dishonorably discharged and Jim never spoke of his. Most couples didn't kill people. Most couples weren't snipers and criminals.

Sebastian went back to the flat. The food was getting cold and it had been about an hour. He got to the door of the flat and opened it. He was met with the bright lights of a Christmas tree.

Jim came over and took the bag of food. "Thanks, tiger." He sat down at the table and took out his dinner. He looked over at Sebastian, who was still standing at the door. "Are you not going to eat?"

"The lights are back on." He knew it was a dumb statement. "How the fuck did you get the lights back on?"

Jim sighed dramatically. "Honestly, hon. When are you going to realize I have contacts literally _everywhere_?" With that, he went back to his food.

Sebastian took off his scarf and coat, still in awe that Jim had managed to get their lights back on in less than an hour. He sat down at the table with Jim and- feeling like a stupid child- started to eat his own dinner.

"By the way, Sebby," Sebastian looked up at Jim, "thanks for the tree."

Sebastian smiled. With that, he remembered why he loved Jim. The man could do anything, but he was still appreciative of what Seb did. They balanced each other- the brain and the brawn.

It would be a good Christmas.


	5. Chapter 5

It was quiet in the office, Sebastian was gone and the doors were closed leaving Jim alone with his thoughts. Usually when Jim was mulling over things in the empty office it meant someone was going to die, but today with his head in his hands, he could not for the life of him figure out what to get Seb for Christmas.

Normally he wouldn't be concerned about buying people christmas gifts, but this was for Sebastian and he admittedly had a bit of a soft spot for the sniper. To make matters worse he had been subjected to relentless taunting and teasing nearly all week. Sebastian would seemingly unknowingly drop little hints about what he was getting Jim. Never anything substantial and Jim never thought they were related at all. Seb just liked to leave it there and watch him try and figure it out. He knew for a fact that Sebastian hadn't actually bought anything yet. While hints were all well and good, if any tangible item came into the flat Jim would find it in less than 48 hours, guaranteed.

Sebastian wasn't as nosy as Jim was. Any present he decided to buy ought to be safe till christmas; the only problem was Seb was a difficult man to shop for. If Jim bought him a suit it would remain untouched in the closet until the end of time, buy him an expensive phone it would be used for nothing more than texting. However Jim did find that there was always one foolproof constant - guns. Not to say the Sebastian wasn't picky about his guns, he was, Jim just knew exactly how to choose them.

For his birthday shortly after Sebastian came to work for him, Jim had bought him a rifle. A WKW WIlk, Polish military issue, that quickly became a favourite. Jim was actually pleasantly surprised that the rifle he had purchased offhandedly as a quick gift became so valuable to Sebastian. He occasionally wondered if Sebastian had liked it so much because it was from him, but when it came down to it, it was just a damn good weapon.

The next gift had been a pocket knife. The only thing extraordinary about it had been the price, as all Jim's presents usually were. It still managed to maintain a permanent spot in Sebastian's pocket though. The knife was his constant companion, getting him out of more than a few close range confrontations.

Now what? It seemed if he were going to follow the pattern a handgun ought to be next. On his laptop he pulled up a few tabs of his favourite manufacturers. Among them Colt, Beretta, and Browning.

The Colt handguns were quickly crossed off the list. They simply didn't meet his standards; if anything the rifles were better. Next came the Beretta tab. The Berettas seemed very promising, each one of a delightfully sleek design with the power to match; that window stayed open. Lastly he looked that the Brownings. They were adequate, he knew if he bought one Sebastian would use it and like it, but by now he rather had his heart set on the Berettas.

He scrolled down the website, mentally noting each gun he may be interested in. There were a number of beautiful pistols on the site, the nicest one he saw had to be the 96 A1. Though he had that gun still in mind he kept looking for one that may just be a _bit_ better. Then he found it. He was immediately drawn to the 92FS Inox. It just screamed old school classy weaponry. Devoid of the usual plain black, this model had a brilliantly chromed barrel leaving only the grip a sleek black.

In a minute he was pulling his jacket on and heading out of the flat. The walk to his Beretta dealer wasn't a long one and his was at the entrance of the store within twenty minutes. A small bell announced his arrival to the shop's owner. The small man came ambling in from the back room, visibly lighting up at the sight of Jim.

"Mr. Moriarty! What can I interest you in today? Mr. Moran isn't with you today?"

He led Jim over to the counter where Jim relayed his order.

"I suppose it wouldn't do much to tell you of all people that this model is illegal in England?"

"Ah, I should think not, considering this model will not be put to the most legal of uses."

Jim leaned against the counter as the owner fished around in back for the gun.

"Do you want me to wrap it, sir?"

"Wrap it?"

"I just assumed it wasn't for you?" The man shifted uncomfortably, tossing a wink in Jim's direction.

"Why?"

"Well, 'tis the season? Right?"

Jim audibly sighed and shoved his hand deeper into his pocket. Everyone in his employ was constantly wondering whether or not their boss and the head sniper had been shagging. The one question that reduced them to a bunch of middle aged women gossiping over a bottle of cheap wine. At one point a gunman had been questioning Sebastian about it so much that Jim ended up firing him; a decision he soon realised certainly did not help with the rumours.

"Just wrap it." he breathed, pinching his nose between his fingers before drawing out his wallet to pay.

The dealer's knowing smirk as he passed Jim the gun made him want to gut the man right there. However it was one of those moments where he had to remind himself that he couldn't kill every gun dealer he went to. With that he stalked out of the store and back to the flat with the box.

To his relief Sebastian still wasn't there. Jim returned to his office, punched in the key code to his liquor cabinet and stowed the little package in there. He figured that ought to keep it safe for a few days until Christmas.


	6. Chapter 6

Sebastian was returning to the flat from a long mission. He was surprised Jim still made him do them, since Seb knew full well he had other people who could do it faster. It had been a rather boring assignment, as he was tailing a man who had been stealing from Jim. It took genuine stupidity to think he'd get away with that. He'd followed Mr. Price to his apartment and then shot him; quick, easy, boring. _Jim must be rubbing off on me_, he thought. _I'm getting bored._

From there, he had walked a couple blocks before hailing a taxi and been driven to within five blocks of their flat. No need to make his guilt obvious, even though Jim had contacts in the police department who could cover it up if need be.

Which is why Sebastian was trekking through the snow down a dark street at two in the morning. The snow was piled everywhere and the pavement was slippery with ice. The only thing he wanted was to get home and sleep. Maybe have a cup of tea first.

He heard a small whimper come from a snowdrift to his right.

He paused to make sure he wasn't going mental with exhaustion. Nope, because he heard the whimper again, followed by a soft bark. He looked at the snow bank, only to discover a small, fluffy black ball of fur.

Sebastian picked up the puppy from the snow pile. It whimpered again. Okay, still alive. It was covered in a sheet of ice. Without thinking, he tucked the puppy into his jacket and continued to walk home. Jim would not be able to resist the little ball of black fur, anyways. The man was a pushover for the things.

He got to the flat and unlocked the door with one hand (which is a lot harder than it sounds). The puppy had begun to move around in his jacket, so he figured it had gotten warmer. The lights were still on, so Seb figured Jim had decided to stay awake until he got home. Well, Christmas had come early for him.

Sebastian took his jacket off, keeping the puppy close to his chest the whole time. No need for it to get into trouble before Jim was in love with it._ I can't keep calling it "it"_, Sebastian thought. He looked quickly. _"She" will have to do for now._

She was put on the ground, and Seb kept an eye on her while he got a bowl. He put leftover lamb and rice in it and put it on the floor. While little German Shepherd puppy was eating, he got another bowl and put water in it.

"Please stay here. Please," he said to the puppy, before heading for the bedroom he and Jim shared.

His boss was stretched out on the bed, wearing silk pajama pants and one of Seb's t-shirts. Just last week, he had commented about how Jim always seemed to wear his clothes when he was gone. His response had been to swing at his face forcefully and had ended with both of them having a little trouble walking. Seb chuckled to himself before he sat next to Jim. Slowly rubbing his back, he waited for him to wake up.

Almost immediately, Jim's eyes popped open. He looked ready to kill someone. Then, he seemed to realize who was touching him and relaxed, taking a deep breath before stretching out on the bed like a lazy kitten. He turned his eyes to Seb. "Hey, tiger," he said in a voice still husky with sleep. "I waited for you."

"I know, boss." Jim smiled at the name. He was obviously still tired. "I have a surprise for you."

Jim's lips came together in a frown. "Where?"

"In the kitchen. Come on." Seb tugged lightly on Jim's arm. Obligingly, Jim followed. _Please be in the kitchen, please still be in the kitchen, please have listened to me_, was the only thought racing through Seb's head.

Luckily, the little pup was still in the kitchen. She lay curled into a ball, asleep in between the bowls of food and water. The ice in her fur had melted, which Sebastian was relieved to see. He turned to look at Jim's face and had to suppress himself from laughing out loud.

Jim's face had the expression of a fat child who had just been told he was to be made an official taste-tester for Cadbury. The mixture of shock, delight, and amazement was too childlike to be on the face of the most dangerous man in London. But there it was, all the same.

"Is it for me?" Jim hadn't moved towards the puppy. It was as if he thought Seb would say he was getting rid of the puppy in the morning.

"Yes, she is. She was out in the snow and I couldn't leave her there." Sebastian pulled Jim towards the puppy. "She doesn't have a name. I thought you would want to name her."

Jim crouched down next to the puppy and tentatively pet her. She stirred but showed no signs of aggression towards the new man. When she didn't attempt to bite him, Jim smiled. "I want to name her Satan."

Seb realed. "You can't name her that."

"And why not?!" Jim went on the offensive, standing up to look Seb in the eyes. "You said I could name her."

"Exactly! It's a 'her'. Pick something feminine."

Jim gave him a dirty look. "Bealzebub." Thinking about it, he added, "'Bell' for short."

"Jim, you're still naming her after the devil." Sebastian looked at him in shock. "Why can't you just give her a normal name like 'Sadie' or 'Chloe'?"

Jim sighed deeply. He looked as if he was thinking very hard. "What about 'Lucy'?"

"Well, yeah. Exactly." Sebastian looked at Jim cautiously. The man never gave in so easily. For him to change his mind without so much as a screaming match was unheard of.

"Then her name is Lucy." Jim crouched down to pet little Lucy again.

Sebastian stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes before his earlier fatigue started to work its way back. He yawned deeply.

Without even glancing back at him, Jim snapped, "Go to bed, Sebastian. And that's not up for argument."

Sebastian smiled sleepily. "Sure thing, boss." He languidly made his way to bed, barely making it into his pajama bottoms before falling into a deep sleep.

Out in the kitchen, Jim stroked Lucy's ears. He chuckled. "We won't tell little Sebby that Lucy is short for Lucifer, will we?" Lucy barked once in what seemed like agreement and Jim decided he loved his surprise.


	7. Chapter 7

Jim was sprawled out on the sofa, flicking through the channels when Sebastian strode into the flat. It was early and Jim was still half asleep, tiredly he raised his head to Seb who had dropped down on the couch by his legs.

"Morning, Jim"

He groaned before sitting up, "What were you doing out before seven?"

Sebastian flourished the stack of envelopes in his hand. "Tis the season."

"I wish people would stop saying that to me." Jim moaned, inelegantly sidling up to Sebastian.

Sebastian was picking at the mail, taking each one separately in his hand and turning it over before replacing it in the pile. He took his time before tearing into the first one and removing the brightly coloured card. Immediately the realisation dawned on Jim - most people actually have people that think about them during the holidays.

The first card was opened to reveal the usual cheap Christmas poem with a quick "Merry Christmas, Sebastian!" Scrawled on from his aunt. The next one displayed the same sort of minimalist Christmas tree on the outside, the inside harbouring yet another poem and quick handwritten message - this one seemed to be from a friend rather than a relative. The third one Jim noticed that he opened it apprehensively with a lingering twinge of guilt. There was a substantially larger paragraph written inside this one. The neat, small hand read "Merry Christmas Sebastian, I hope you're doing well, it's been much too long since we've spoken. Your father and I are doing fine, we took a vacation to Spain a few months ago - it really was lovely. We were going to send you a postcard, but, well, we didn't quite get around to it. You and Natasha ought to come visit us after the holidays, it has been far too long Sebastian, call me. - Love mummy."

"Far too long indeed" Sebastian muttered more to himself than anything.

"I take it you haven't told your family you're fucking a man."

"There's a lot of things I haven't told my family."

Sebastian didn't look like he wanted to elaborate on the topic so Jim let him be as he ripped open a few more cards. A few minutes later there was a stack of about seven or eight cards on the coffee table. Jim watched every card get tossed onto the table one by one, seeing the collection of various names go by. He muttered about it being too early again as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen on a quest for tea. The ruffling of cards could be heard back in the living room as Sebastian tossed the torn up envelopes in the bin. He lingered over it, deciding whether or not to toss the cards as well, but ended up keeping them for now.

Jim felt Sebastian's presence in the kitchen, he heard the cards quietly set on the table, he heard Sebastian behind him.

"I'm sorry, Jim. I know you had some shit holidays as a kid."

"You think I care about getting some Christmas cards?"

"No, I'm just ashamed that I do."

Jim turned to Sebastian, looking up at his big blue eyes watching him morosely. He cared for Sebastian, that in itself was a new concept for Jim, but he found these emotions tedious. As much as he wanted to talk to Sebastian, he was still very much uncomfortable with it.

"What is it?"

"It's fine, you don't -"

"Fucking hell, Seb. I'm trying, but you're going to have to give me more than a moody teenage girl."

Sebastian sighed, leaning heavily against the countertop and stealing a glance at the stack of cards before beginning.

"Things haven't exactly been cordial between my parents and I. It's been years and now I guess my mum's trying to make nice or something." Jim watched him with what he hoped to be the appropriate expression to prompt Seb to continue. "It's just never really been all that great I suppose. My father always had these high expectations and being the only child it was sort of my responsibility to live out his idea of the perfect son. That Natasha mentioned in the card - I dated her before I joined the military, and before I well, came out. She took it just fine, said she understood and we moved on; it was my parents I was afraid of. I joined the army immediately after that and it made my father happy for a while of course until I was discharged. That was when they essentially disowned me, The minute they found out they had me on the phone yelling about what a disgrace I was to the family name and all that bullshit. Banned me from coming home so I was just tossed out of the service with a little bit of money, a rifle I managed to keep, and a big dishonourable discharge slapped onto my name. You know my story from there, a bit of hunting, a bit of drinking and then you find me unconscious in a bar. It's been years and she sends me a fucking card like she talks to me every weekend."

Jim nodded slowly and took his tea to the living room; very much aware that Sebastian expected more of a reaction from him as the sniper slid down on the couch beside him. Jim wasn't to keen on relaying his own childhood seeing as how emotional Seb got over his. Emotions repressed for this long ought to stay repressed. To be fair he didn't even know how he felt about his parents or anyone else he had a connection with in his past. It was just indifferent, whereas Sebastian was obviously angry with his parents Jim was simply apathetic.

"I know you think I had the worst childhood known to man, but it really wasn't all that bad." Jim said after a moment, "My parents were hardly ever home, but it never bothered me. They both had their respective high profile jobs, it kept them busy and kept the family affluent. And no, they didn't do birthdays, no holiday parties, we didn't have the big Christmases people expect. It never seemed odd to me, everyone just went about their own business. It wasn't until I started bouncing from private school to private school that people began to point out that it was different." He laughed softly before he continued on, "I thought they were all absolutely mad. Why on earth would anyone waste and entire day sitting around a decorated tree, pretending for a few days that you actually liked everyone there."

"But you're here now." Sebastian cut in, gesturing to the Christmas tree he had put up just days ago.

"This is...different."

Sebastian watched him think of the proper words until Jim fixed his eyes on him and sighed.

"Well you put up that Christmas tree for me, not because it's routine or normal but because you knew I never had one. Just the fact that you're here, it's more than anyone else has ever gotten to say." Jim shook his head, "It's too early for this, Sebastian."

"No, no, you don't have to tell me anything else." Seb leaned in to kiss the man, "Thank you."

He left the room and went into the kitchen again. Jim heard the cards drop into the bin.


	8. Chapter 8

Sebastian was late, and he knew it.

Jim had been very specific. Come home at seven. Well, it was nine. The hit had taken longer than anticipated and there had been no opportunity to call and apologize.

Seb practiced in his head. Jim would want to know where he had been. He would say on the hit he had ordered. Jim would ask why it had taken two hours longer than anticipated. Sebastian would say the target had been good at evading. Jim would be angry for a day, but get over it.

Of course, that didn't stop Sebastian from worrying. When your boyfriend- he guessed that's what their relationship classified as- was notorious for his irate malevolence, you tended to tiptoe around ticking him off.

So, when Sebastian opened the flat door, he was prepared for anything. In his head he had thought about being lit on fire, fed to rats, and even thrown off the building.

But instead, nothing happened.

The lights were all on, but Seb didn't hear anything to suggest or feel like he was about to be killed. Odd. Then, he heard a noise from the kitchen.

He fell into a crouch and moved quitely towards the kitchen door. He still had his handgun tucked into the waistband of his pants and a knife secured above his shoe. If anyone was in the kitchen, they wouldn't be much longer.

He got to the door, counted to five, and then whipped around the corner. Seb was not expecting what he saw. Jim had a large wine glass- which looked like it had already been used recently- and he was filling it up. Jim Moriarty was completely pissed.

Sebastian stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Hey, boss." He grabbed the wine bottle off the counter in the time it took Jim to turn around.

"Ooh, Sebby. You're home!" Jim hugged him tight and then stepped back. "You're late."

Sebastian put the wine on a high shelf. "Yes, I am."

Jim frowned. "I told you I would make you eat sharpened toothpicks if you were late." He took a moment to think. "But I don't want to make you eat sharpened toothpicks."

Seb chuckled and took Jim by the arm. He was going to try to make the man sleep. As it was, he would probably wake up with a hangover that could kill, judging by the amount of wine missing from the bottle.

"Seb, where are we going?" Jim followed where Sebastian was leading, but skeptically. When they got to the bedroom door, Jim smiled.

"Go lay down in the bed." Sebastian felt odd giving Jim orders. He was used to receiving them from him.

Jim did as he was told, curling up under the covers. Sebastian went to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and went through the bottles. Having had a good deal of experience with hangovers, he had almost perfected combatting them. Sebastian grabbed a multivitamin, a vitamin-b supplement, and a couple aspirin. Then, he went out to the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the fridge.

He went back into the bedroom, to discover that Jim had fallen asleep. Seb felt a little bad, nudging the man awake, but he knew it would be better for them both in the long run.

When Jim opened his eyes, Sebastian handed him the pills. "I need you to take these, okay? They'll help." Then, Seb opened the water and gave it to Jim as well. Jim took the pills as he was told and gave the water back.

Sebastian put the water on the end table next to Jim. He got up to leave, knowing sleep was what Jim really needed now.

"Seb?" Jim's voice reached Seb before he had a chance to leave the bedroom.

"Yeah, boss?" He turned around.

"Seb, I want you to fuck me." Sebastian's eyes widened. He knew Jim was drunk. But that did nothing for his reaction.

"Jim, I can't." The crestfallen look on Jim's face almost pushed Seb to giving in. He wanted nothing more than to do exactly what he was telling him to do.

"Please?" Jim asked, sitting up in the bed. "It'll be good, I promise."

_That's not saying much_, Sebastian thought. _It's always good._ "In the morning, boss."

"Oh. Okay." Looking absolutely miserable, Jim tugged his covers closer around him. "You can leave."

Sebastian- reacting on an instinct- climbed into the bed next to Jim and tugged the man into a hug. Jim fought him for a good minute before giving into it.

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just not the time now." Sebastian waited for a response. When one didn't come, he worriedly laid Jim down on his pillow.

He was fast asleep.

Sebastian sighed. The next day would be a long one.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a little after nine when Jim ambled into the kitchen, his hand massaging his pounding head. He rooted around in the cabinet, producing a bottle of painkillers which he dry swallowed before dropping down on chair. Dropping his head down on the countertop, he willed away this persistent hangover. Alcohol was a hell of a thing in large amounts to someone like him. It took a moment for him to realise that he was missing a certain blond. He jerked his head up quickly, causing him to momentarily see stars. Scanning the room, his eyes fell on a little folded piece of paper. The small sheet bore Sebastian's familiar messy script in a few lines explaining where he had gone:

_Off to grab some groceries, be back around noon. I'd recommend sleeping this one off, Jim, you were pretty pissed last night._

Jim dropped his head down into his arms again and groaned. He wanted nothing more than to just nap on the counter at the moment; any desire to move had quickly faded away. Unfortunately the silence was quickly punctuated by the ringing of a phone.

Jim shoved his hand into his pocket in search of his mobile before he realised that it wasn't the familiar Bee Gees tone. Confused, he looked up at the landline sitting a few feet away. He eyed it for a moment until he supposed that he ought to answer it, but who the hell would be calling him on that phone rather than his mobile? He wasn't sure who even had the number, _he _didn't even know what the number was.

"Who is this?" He answered

"That's not a very good way to answer the phone, I'd like to know the same thing." It was a woman's voice.

"Who are you and how on earth did you get this number?"

"I'd like to know who I'm speaking with first."

Jim sighed and pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. He had half a mind to hang up on the lady if he wasn't so curious as to how she came by their number.

"It's Jim." He replied, "lets leave it at that."

"See? That wasn't so difficult. Now I'm looking for Sebastian, I was under the impression that he lived here? But I may have the wrong number."

"Sebastian? Who are you and why do you want Sebastian?" He questioned but he already had a pretty good idea.

"So he does live here? Then who are you?"

"Jim," he repeated, trying to figure out how to phrase the next part. Sebastian's boss probably would've been the most accurate, his friend would probably work alright too. "I'm his boyfriend."

The other end was silent for a moment, he almost felt a pang of satisfaction for making the woman speechless. "Now what did you want from Sebastian?" He questioned.

"I sent him a card, I thought he would call me."

"Obviously not, was there anything in particular you wanted?"

"No. No, I just hoped to talk with him."

"Unfortunately I don't believe he returns the sentiment."

"Would you tell him I called?"

"Probably not, how did you get this number?"

With that she hung up. Jim tossed the phone back down on the table, glancing up at the clock. A bit more sleep wouldn't hurt.

/ooo/ooo/ooo/

He woke up to the sound of the door shutting lightly and Sebastian quietly poking his head into the room. Jim stirred, inching over to the side of the bed to give Seb room to sit.

"Morning, 'Bastian."

"Hate to break it to you, but it's more like afternoon now. How's your head?"

"It's fine."

"Have you been sleeping all this time?"

"Yeah" he lied.

Sebastian made him get out of bed, he dragged Jim to the kitchen where he fretted about making lunch as Jim just eyed the phone. He sort of decided a while ago that he wasn't going to tell Sebastian his mother called, even though the phone call hardly lasted more than two minutes. Lying to Sebastian made him a bit uneasy oddly enough. However he also didn't want to bring back whatever emotions were still left over from the mention of her a few days ago. Most of all he definitely did not want Sebastian to call her back. That was something that could not happen, from what Jim gathered Sebastian was better off not thinking of them.

So as Sebastian took the seat opposite him, Jim said nothing. It was best that way.


	10. Chapter 10

Snow was thick on the streets of London. Every exhale hung in the air like smoke. Those who dared to venture outside were bundled under layers of clothing, faces covered by scarfs, hands covered by gloves. Most chose to stay inside with a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate. After all, tomorrow was Christmas Eve.  
Stores were full of last-minute shoppers- all searching for the perfect gift on a budget. Parents and grandparents filled the toy stores and electric shops. Husbands crammed into jewelry stores, shaking their heads at prices.  
Sebastian was stuck. What did one get the criminal mastermind who had the world in his hand. It had to be something perfect. After all, if he bought something Jim saw as silly or useless, he would be informed before the packaging was even torn.  
He had been into the electronic shops, even the toy stores. He didn't know what he was looking for, so searching everywhere seemed like a good option. After all, he was shopping for the notorious consulting criminal. It wasn't as if google could help.  
Frustrated, Sebastian ran his hand through his hair. This didn't help, as it only served to remind him it was getting too long.  
On a whim, he entered a small bookstore. Bells on the door announced his entry, but the teenage girl at the counter didn't even look up from the book she appeared to be raptured in. Sebastian walked a little more into the shop, glancing at the title of the book. "New Moon". So she would be no help.  
The shelves were crammed full of old books, with even more balanced on top. Some of the titles were worn off, some bindings were destroyed. Sebastian grabbed one with a decorated cover.  
Using his sleeve to remove some dust off the cover, he was able to read the title. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," the fine manuscript declared. He had heard Jim quote the Bard on more than one occasion.  
It was just then that Sebastian realized he had never actually seen Jim read anything. The few books they had in the flat belonged to Seb.  
He tucked the book into the crook of his arm and started looking around the shop.  
The pile grew. A few love stories (because Jim really was a romantic at heart), a couple comedies (because Jim needed a laugh), and an armload of murder mysteries, tragedies, and death (because he was shopping for Jim). The covers were all brilliant- carefully crafted with the eye of a true artist. Feeling quite proud of himself, he collected his pile.  
Sebastian was heading back out towards the counter when he saw it. The book was sitting under a pile of others. Had it been any other book, it would have stayed on the shelf, overlooked. But Seb saw it and immediately added it to the pile for Jim.  
It was a pale yellow book. The cover was in pristine condition. Animals and what appeared to be ferns circled the title, typed in capital letters: Grimm's Fairy Tales.  
After paying the teenage girl at the counter, he grabbed the bags of books.  
It was after several minutes of walking that he realized he needed something more to go with the books. Jim would certainly read his gifts, but in the meantime Sebastian would try to find something he could make quick use of.  
He found himself at a jewelry store. He paid the cabbie, gathered his bags, and went inside. No one looked twice at the man with the scar on his cheek.  
Sebastian went from case to case looking at cuff links, watches, and tie pins. It had to be something Jim would appreciate. The perfect gift. If it could go with one of the books, even better.  
After a fruitless twenty minutes he caught sight of a glinting silver tie pin resting on purple velvet. A fox head. Jim was like a fox. An elusive hunter, wise and cunning. Always daring or be caught, but whisking away at just the right time, tail disappearing around a corner.  
He bought it, making sure to handle it with care as he added the bag to his collection. Sebastian hailed a cab, happy to enter the warm air of a taxi. He headed home, glad that for once Jim would be busy somewhere else.  
Struggling with his bags up the stairs, Seb eventually managed to make it to the flat. Quietly and carefully he deposited them on the ground in the living room. He found wrapping paper and ribbons and scissors and tape.  
Within an hour, each book was wrapped individually and the tie pin was wrapped securely in its box. The presents were placed under the tree.  
Feeling quite proud of himself, Sebastian went to make a cup of tea. After all, it was still cold out and any sane person was at home drinking something warm.  
Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve.


	11. Chapter 11

Jim was sprawled out on the sofa, hand deep in the popcorn bowl when Sebastian came home. He eyes swept up and down Seb's bloodstained shirt before flicking his hand in the direction of the bathroom.

"Don't get any blood on my carpet."

Sebastian smirked, gave a snide "wouldn't dream of it" before quickly obeying. In a moment the shower turned on as Jim vaguely listened to the sound of the water over the movie, attempting to resist the urge to join him. However, very quickly he found himself thinking more about the bloody clothes discarded on the bathroom tiles and his sniper in the shower than what he was watching.

He made it little more than three minutes before cursing under his breath and stalking off to the bathroom. The door was open and he went in, clicking it shut behind him.

"Jim?" Sebastian called.

"Yeah, it's me."

"I was wondering if i'd get some company in here."

Jim deftly unbuttoned his shirt; he laid all his clothes out on the towel rack before pulling back the shower curtain and stepping in. Seb stood with his back to Jim, hands massaging the shampoo into his hair.

"With all that blood I managed to get on me I'm surprised you lasted till the shower." He commented, rinsing the bubbles out.

"Ah, that's you. I pride myself on having a bit more self restraint."

"And yet you're still here."

"I did say more, not a lot."

sebastian turned his attention to Jim, lessening the distance between them to mere inches - not exactly a great feat in the closed confines of a shower however. Jim was the first to bridge the gap, his hands seeking out any part of the sniper's chest while his lips collided with Sebastian's as he quickly followed suit.

A few seconds of that and Sebastian was hungrily moving down his neck, biting as sucking all the while succeeding in drawing out pricks of blood on Jim's pale skin. Jim moaned, nails leaving little red marks on Seb's chest. He was beginning to become aware of Sebastian's hard member pressing up against his own, instinctually his hips bucked forward to achieve some sort of friction. Seb responded by wrapping a hand around Jim's cock, pumping slowly until he elicited low moans from the other. He pressed his mouth hard against Jim's, backing him up until his back his the cold tile. Jim didn't mind giving Sebastian his time of pure dominance as he was certain he'd be getting something enjoyable in return. Seb now had his hands on Jim's hips, he rammed them against the wall, gaining a brief bit of satisfaction from the surprised gasp he got from the man.

He lowered himself to his knees, looking up at Jim with a smirk. "This is why you came in here, isn't it?"

Jim managed a quick response before Sebastian's lips wrapped around his cock. His head rolled back, hips arching forward and Seb pushed him flush against the wall again before taking in the rest of Jim's shaft. Water pounded down on them, Sebastian's hair lay plastered against his forehead, his eyes watching Jim's every reaction arrogantly.

Seb swirled his tongue around Jim's cock, growing more and more eager himself as he heard the man's satisfied moans. Simultaneously he began to jerk himself off to Jim's purely erotic noises. Jim's fingers carded through Sebastian's wet hair as he pushed his head further onto his cock. For a third time he arched his hips, this time causing Seb to gag slightly before recovering. Sebastian was never one to tease, especially with Jim. His tongue sought out the places in which he knew would drive Jim over the edge.

"Seb, I'm nearly, nearly there" he moaned and Sebastian quickened his pace on his own member.

With that he came, Sebastian swallowing his load and following moments later. Jim slumped down on the wall a few inches as Seb stood up slightly wobbly. They stayed there a few minutes longer, just letting the water run over their bodies. Jim was the first one out, grabbing a towel for himself and tossing one back to Sebastian as he followed. He didn't waste much time drying off and putting on his clothes again, Sebastian wrapped his towel around his legs and left for their bedroom to find clothes of his own.

Back in the living room the movie had long since ended, his popcorn was still sitting on the coffee table. Sebastian entered shortly after, sinking down on the couch and wrapping his arm around Jim.

"It's Christmas eve and you're watching terrible movies?"

"Well yeah. Don't forget I was _just _in the shower with you too. What would you prefer?"

"Care for some dinner?"

"Italian?"

"Whatever you want."

So Jim let himself be whisked out the door, grabbing a jacket quickly on his way out. The air was cold, never mind his still wet skin and they hurried through the snow. They made it to the restaurant quickly in into the warm air and were seated just as fast.

Jim watched Sebastian over his menu, Seb smirked when he caught his eye and laid down his menu.

"Merry Christmas, Jim."

"Not yet."

"Close enough."


	12. Chapter 12

Sebastian was having a very hard time staying asleep. He would restlessly open his eyes, look at the clock, groan, and fall back to sleep. But it was never for a very long time.  
About the fifth time, he said "fuck it," under his breath and got up. Jim was still very much asleep.  
The Christmas tree in the living room was all lit up as it had been before, but now presents sat underneath. Seb had his pile for Jim, and Jim had a gift for Seb. Jim's had been there for about a week, but Sebastian had only added his about 30 hours ago. Jim was notorious for sneaking into his wrapped Christmas presents.  
Sebastian made his way to the kitchen, where he put the kettle on for tea. Snow drifted by the window outside, but it was almost impossible to tell if this was new snow or measly the old snow being blown around.  
Waiting for the kettle to boil, he turned on the tv in the living room. News held nothing of any importance. Christmas specials were on almost every channel. Sebastian groaned. He liked Christmas as much as the next guy, but he didn't need it shoved down his throat.  
The kettle began to whistle, and Sebastian hurried to turn it off. He needn't wake Jim up just yet. It was only 0600 on a holiday. He didn't want him in an testy mood all day.  
The hurry turned out to be for naught. As Seb was pouring creamer into his tea, Jim groggily entered the kitchen.  
He didn't look angry. But that didn't mean much. But it was something. Sebastian hurried from the kitchen to the living room.  
"We can open presents since you're up," he threw casually over his shoulder. Jim stared daggers at him. The man was not a morning person. "The kettle's hot." And with that Seb sat on the couch.  
Jim came back in with a cup of tea. He had put no creamer in it and it was practically black. The man had made the strongest cup of tea the United Kingdom had probably ever seen. Sebastian watched wide eyed as Jim drank the black liquid from his cup. He felt his upper lip twinge a bit, but didn't say anything.  
He clambered under the tree and pulled out Jim's presents. He laid them around him, as Jim was too absorbed in his tea to respond to anything going on around him. Seb grabbed the present with his name on it and returned to the couch.  
"You first, Jim." Jim looked up from his tea and noticed all the presents around him. He carefully put the cup down on a coaster. Grabbing a gift, he leaned back and slowly began to unwrap them.  
Jim opened presents in a way much different than Seb. Jim would move the wrapped object around in his hands. He'd hold it up to his ear and shake it, even. He'd tap the box, he'd weigh it with two hands, then one. And when he had formulated a hypothesis, he'd tear the paper from it. The look on his face would either be joy (he had guessed correctly) of crushed defeat (he had guessed wrong).  
Sebastian, on the other hand, would meticulously take the wrapping paper off. He did not tear or rip a single piece of it. Even the tape would come off cleanly. When it was open, he'd always smile and say thank you. In fact, it was very hard to tell when he enjoyed his gift and when he did not.  
Jim went through the books in fifteen minutes. He had been most excited when he had torn he wrapping off of Grimm's Fairy Tales, smiling very broadly, before adding it to the others he had opened. Sebastian felt quite proud of himself for buying it.  
Then they got to the tiepin. Sebastian could practically hear Jim's thoughts in his head as the other man studied the gift in his hand.  
Too small to be another book.  
Too big to hold any electronic I would need.  
He weighed it in his hand.  
Light.  
He shook it.  
Small rattling sound. Not the sound of a card. Must be jewelry of some kind given the characteristics of the box.  
Now, what kind of jewelry would Seb get?  
It's not a watch, the sound was all wrong. Not cuff links, there was only one rattling noise. Perhaps a tie pin?  
And with that, Jim ripped the wrapping off the box. He opened it to see a silver tie pin on purple velvet. It was shaped like a fox, and Jim realized Seb had meant it to go along with the book.  
Smiling, Jim handed Sebastian the present he had gotten him.  
Seb slowly removed the tape and then the paper. There was a box. When the box was opened it contained a tissue paper wrapped object. When the tissue paper was removed, Sebastian found himself holding 92FS Inox. The Beretta gleamed in the lights thrown from the Christmas tree.  
"Thank you," Sebastian said to Jim, beaming. The gun felt perfect in his grip. The weight was beautiful. Small enough, sleek, simple. "Really."  
"No problem." Jim got up to get another cup of strong tea. Sebastian smirked, and turned the tv back on.  
So maybe they didn't have the postcard Christmas. And maybe their relationship was a little strange. But it always worked out well for them. What could possibly be dangerous about a book, a tiepin, and a handgun?


End file.
